The French Parliament has refused to make any changes to the 2019 finance bill; the proposals would make the tax treatment for transactions in cryptocurrencies more beneficial.

On December 17, the National Court rejected four amendments that were backing the improvement of the crypto tax system, starting from 2019, according to French monthly news magazine Captial’s report published on December 18.

The decision by French Parliament occurred while they were debating about the upcoming 2019 government budget. As per the crypto news outlet, Bitcoin.fr, all four cryptocurrency amendments proposed were rejected by the Chairman of the Finance Committee.

One amendment was to have a discrepancy between the usual cryptocurrency transactions and the occasional transactions, which is more favorable from a perspective of tax.

Another amendment proposed was to increase the annual tax redemption from 305€ to either 3000€ or 5000€. However, the National Assembly declined the proposal, stating that the current exemption of 305€ is “quite reasonable”.

The fourth and final amendment would see the capital gains on cryptocurrencies treated the same way as the existing system for securities like equities. However, the Chairman said the proposal could be reconsidered in the future, only if cryptocurrencies become more accepted globally.

There were proposals on reducing the crypto income tax from 36.2 to 30 percent; the current status of the proposal is still obscure.

Alexandra Stachtchenko, head of the French Blockchain Association firm Chaintech, criticized government’s move to Capital, saying that the government is failing to provide legal certainty for the traders and investors of the country. He also cited that under the existing regulations, crypto holders will prefer not to showcase their crypto incomes.

The French Government in the past has shown some positive signs towards cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, wrote on finance platform, Numerama about the positives of implementing blockchain technology.

An excerpt from his editorial read:

“France is one step ahead in FinTech. A revolution is underway, of which bitcoin was only the precursor. The blockchain will offer new opportunities to our startups, for example, with initial coin offerings that will allow them to raise funds through tokens.”

In December 2018, the French political deputies offered to spend over 500 million euros on state-level blockchain for the next three years to support Le Maire’s course.

The Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) is planning on issuing licenses to companies that are looking to raise money through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The government later approved this legalization in September of 2017.